Meta

The day Netflix came to town..

Currently airing on the Netflix, the subscription internet TV streaming service is a title called The End of the F***ing World. It is an adaptation of a graphic novel and was made by E4 and Netflix.

Sometime in early May 2017, I received the following letter – as did all my neighbours – about upcoming filming on our street. For me, having worked on a fair number of Hollywood blockbusters in my time (granted, in the post-production sector – though I did do a bit of travelling and got to studios and even set visits on the odd occasion), the whole thing felt surreal. I blanked out bits to protect phone numbers and locations.

I only started seeing them set-up for the filming on the day itself (one day after my 41st birthday!) as I had to head to work, but the final shots can be seen in the cafe sequence in episode one of The End of The F***ing World in which our two protagonists (or maybe even antagonists – it’s certainly not a black and white situation) are having something to eat – you can see the road I live on (but thankfully not my house) in the background.

As for the show itself? It’s extremely dark. Somebody compared it to a really messed up Wes Anderson film. I kind of thought it felt like Harold & Maude, but except Maude being a teenager and a lot more antagonistic (at least in the beginning). Whatever you compare it to, the whole thing is a very dark tale. But it must be said that the performances from the two leads are outstanding, and production values are top notch.